Big Opportunities Aren’t Limited to Big Places

This post is from our new content developer and researcher, Stacy Wong.

I graduated from college last spring. Since then, I’ve applied to all of the Fortune 50 companies, waited around, and went through endless hoops just to have a small window of opportunity to make a lasting impression on hiring managers. After all, we’re taught to “dream big,” right? To look for big opportunities in bigplaces. But after countless phone screens, personality and aptitude tests, and around the panel interviews, I’ve stepped away from the big company scene in order to see what else is out there because I believe that big opportunities don’t exist solely in big places.

I stumbled up on the AuthenticMatters opportunity somewhat haphazardly (so much so that I can’t really recall where I came across the post). That said, after getting the offer to climb aboard, I started to sense the opportunity here. Just a few hours in, I quickly started learning. I was briefed on the clients, the various projects, and got a true picture of how my help would contribute both to the clients and the business. A few days in, I started sitting in on client meetings, gaining useful and interesting insight from some really, really smart people and understanding how this stuff worked. A few weeks in, I started getting acquainted with how PR, done the right way, can really drive results. Now I’ve started to understand the ecosystem surrounding this industry—and that has helped me clear up some post-graduation murkiness of what kind of career path I’d like to pursue later on in life.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that you don’t necessarily have to go “big” to begin your career. Working in a smaller environment means that everyone’s contributions are critical; there’s constant “doing” while learning. I’m doing things that drive the business goals while learning the art and science of digital marketing. It’s only been a few weeks, but I can confidently say I’m liking “small” right now because I’m learning and doing.